Barking control device and method

Abstract

A bark trainer which allows a dog by its own barking behavior to control a level of electroshock stimulus. Circuitry in a collar-mounted electrical shock device detects the onset of barking and initially produces only a single low stimulus electrical shock pulse that gets the dog's attention, but does not produce a highly unpleasant level of stimulation. If the dog continues barking, the stimulation level of the electrical shock pulses are increased at the onset of each barking episode in a stepwise fashion until the stimulus becomes so unpleasant that the dog stops barking for at least a predetermined time, e.g., one minute. After that minute elapses, the circuitry resets itself to its lowest initial stimultion level and remains inactive until barking begins again, and then repeats the process, beginning with the lowest level of stimulation and increasing the stimulus level if barking continues. In one embodiment, a certain duration, i.e., 30 seconds, of "watchdog barking" is permitted before the initial stimulus pulse is applied to get the dog's attention, after which continued "nuisance barking" results in gradual increasing in the intensity of the adverse stimulus up to a maximum level until barking stops for at leasts one minute.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of control of barking by a dog, comprising the steps of: (a) sensing a barking episode by the dog;   (b) producing and applying to the dog an electroshock stimulus of a low initial intensity which is sufficient to get the dog's attention, in response to the sensing of step (a);   (c) continuing to sense any further barking episodes by the dog, and if other barking episodes occur, each before a preselected time interval elapses, then producing further electroshock stimulus in response to each episode, respectively, whereby the intensity of each further electroshock stimulus is increased in accordance with the number of the further barking episodes;   (d) repeating steps (a) through (c) if no other barking episode occurs before the preselected time interval elapses.   
     
     
       2. The method of claim 1 wherein step (a) includes sensing an onset of the barking episode, step (c) includes sensing onsets of the further barking episodes and producing the further electroshock stimulus in response to each onset, and step (d) includes repeating step (a) through (c) if no onset of another barking episode occurs before the preselected time interval elapses. 
     
     
       3. The method of claim 2 wherein step (a) includes pressing a vibration sensitive transducer against the dog's neck by means of a collar, amplifying and rectifying a signal produced by the transducer to produce a plurality of onset signals that represent the onsets of the barking episodes, respectively, and applying the electroshock stimulus to the dog's neck by means of a pair of electrodes pressed against the neck by the collar. 
     
     
       4. The method of claim 3 including starting a first timing circuit in response to one of the onset signals, producing an enable signal having a width equal to a time interval determined by the first timing circuit, and causing the electroshock stimulus to have a duration corresponding to the width of the enable signal. 
     
     
       5. The method of claim 4 including increasing the time interval determined by the first timing circuit and starting a second timing circuit in response to initiation of the enable signal, the second timing circuit determining the preselected time interval. 
     
     
       6. The method of claim 5 wherein the increasing of the time interval of the first timing circuit includes incrementing a decade counter circuit having a plurality of outputs connected by a plurality of diodes to a first terminal of each of a plurality of resistors, respectively, in response to termination of the enable signal, each of the resistors having a second terminal connected to a capacitor in the first timing circuit to determine a corresponding time interval of the first timing circuit. 
     
     
       7. The method of claim 6 including enabling an oscillator in response to the enable signal and driving a primary winding of a transformer with the oscillator, and coupling a secondary winding of the transformer to the electrodes. 
     
     
       8. The method of claim 7 including generating a free barking interval before producing the initial intensity electroshock stimulus, by producing an inhibit signal in response to an initial onset of barking and inhibiting the enable signal from the oscillator by means of a gate that performs a logical ANDing of the enable signal with the inhibit signal to produce an oscillator enable signal. 
     
     
       9. An apparatus for control of barking by a dog, comprising in combination: (a) means for sensing a barking episode by the dog;   (b) means coupled to the sensing means for producing an initial, low intensity electroshock stimulus of an initial intensity which is sufficient to get the dog's attention in response to the barking episode;   (c) means for applying the electroshock stimulus to the dog;   (d) means for producing further electroshock stimulus in response to a further barking episode if the further barking episode occurs before a preselected time interval elapses;   (e) means for increasing the intensity of the further electroshock stimulus in accordance with a number of occurrences of further barking episodes;   (f) means for reducing the intensity of the electroshock stimulus to the initial intensity if no other barking episode occurs before the preselected time interval elapses.   
     
     
       10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the sensing means senses an onset of the barking episode, the initial electroshock stimulus producing means responds to the onset of the barking episode, the further electroshock stimulus producing means responds to an onset of the further barking episode, and the intensity reducing means reduces the intensity if no onset of another barking episode occurs before the preselected time interval elapses. 
     
     
       11. The apparatus of claim 10 including a vibration sensitive transducer and a collar pressing the vibration sensitive transducer against the dog's neck, wherein the electroshock stimulus producing means includes first and second electrodes pressed by the collar against the dog's neck and applying the electrode stimulus to the dog's neck, means for amplifying, filtering, and rectifying a signal produced by the transducer to produce a plurality of onset signals that represent the onsets of the barking episodes, respectively. 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of claim 11 including a first timing circuit, and means for starting the first timing circuit in response to the onset signals, means coupled to the first timing circuit for producing an enable signal having a width equal to a time interval determined by the first timing circuit, and means responsive to the enable signal for producing the electroshock signal with a duration corresponding to the width of the enable signal. 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of claim 12 including means for increasing the interval determined by the first timing circuit, a second timing circuit determining a preselected time interval, and means coupled to the second timing circuit for starting the preselected time interval in response to initiation of the enable signal. 
     
     
       14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the time interval increasing means includes a decade counter circuit having a plurality of outputs connected by a plurality of diodes to a first terminal of each of a plurality of resistors, respectively, each of the resistors having a second terminal connected to a first terminal of a first capacitor in the first timing circuit to determine a corresponding time interval of the first delay circuit, and means for incrementing the decade counter circuit in response to termination of the enable signal. 
     
     
       15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the electroshock stimulus producing means further includes an oscillator having an enable input connected to respond to the enable signal, an output transformer having a primary winding connected to an output of the oscillator, and a secondary winding having terminals connected to the first and second electrodes, respectively. 
     
     
       16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the first timing circuit includes a first inverting Schmitt trigger having an input connected to receive the onset signals, an output connected to a second terminal of the first capacitor, a second inverting Schmitt trigger having an input connected to the first terminal of the first capacitor and to the resistors and an output connected by means of a diode to the input of the first inverting Schmitt trigger, and an input of a third inverting Schmitt trigger, the third Schmitt trigger having an output and producing the enable signal on that output. 
     
     
       17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the second timing circuit includes a second capacitor having a first terminal coupled to ground and a second terminal coupled to a reset input of the decade counter, to a first terminal of a pullup resistor, and to an anode of a diode having a cathode coupled to a clock input of the decade counter and the output of the third inverting Schmitt trigger. 
     
     
       18. The apparatus of claim 17 including five of the resistors, wherein the decade counter has five outputs connected, respectively, to the resistors, the resistors and the first capacitor having resistances and a capacitance, respectively, selected to produce corresponding time intervals of approximately 3, 9, 50, 250, and 750 microseconds after each incrementing of the decade counter. 
     
     
       19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the pullup resistor and the second capacitor have values selected to cause the preselected time interval to be approximately one minute. 
     
     
       20. The apparatus of claim 18 including means coupled to the enable input of the oscillator for generating a free barking interval in response to an initial barking episode before producing the initial intensity electroshock stimulus. 
     
     
       21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the free barking interval generating means includes a third timing circuit, means for starting the third timing circuit in response to an onset of the initial barking episode, means responsive to the third timing circuit for producing an inhibit signal of a duration corresponding to the free barking interval, an inhibit gate having inputs connected to receive the enable signal and the inhibit signal, respectively, and an output connected to the enable input of the oscillator, and means for holding the decade counter in its reset mode in response to the inhibit signal to prevent onsets of barking episodes from incrementing the decade counter during the free barking interval. 
     
     
       22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the means for starting the third timing circuit includes a fourth timing circuit producing a time delay interval which prevents the means responsive to the third timing means from generating another inhibit signal until the dog has abstained from barking for a period of time equal to the time delay interval. 
     
     
       23. An apparatus for control of barking by a dog, comprising in combination: (a) means for sensing a barking episode by the dog;   (b) means coupled to the sensing means for producing an initial, low intensity electroshock stimulus of an initial intensity which is sufficient to get the dog's attention in response to the barking episode;   (c) means for applying the electroshock stimulus to the dog;   (d) means for producing further electroshock stimulus in response to a further barking episode if the further barking episode occurs before a preselected time interval elapses;   (e) means for increasing the intensity of the further electroshock stimulus in accordance with a number of occurrences of further barking episodes;   (f) means for reducing the intensity of the electroshock stimulus to the initial intensity if no other barking episode occurs before the preselected time interval elapses;   (g) means coupled to the electroshock stimulus producing means for producing an inhibit signal in response to an initial barking episode;   (h) means responsive to the inhibit signal for inhibiting the electroshock stimulus producing means from producing the initial intensity electroshock stimulus until the inhibit signal has terminated, thereby generating a free barking interval followed by electroshock stimulus produced in response to further barking episodes.